Philippine death toll from typhoon Melor rises to nine

Typhoon Melor lashed the central provinces of Philippines with heavy flooding, killing at least 9 people, authorities said on Wednesday.

Four people were killed in Mindoro due to Melor according to Mindoro governor Alfonso Umali.

The other five people were killed in Northern Samar, where Melor made its first landfall Monday morning. About 90 percent of the province was affected, said disaster official Jonathan Baldo.

Communication lines remained disconnected in the province as of 8 a.m. Wednesday.

According to the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), a total of 165,554 families or 742,991 persons have been evacuated on Wednesday.

A total of 124 domestic flights were cancelled since Monday due to the weather disturbance. Due to rough sea conditions by the typhoon, a total of 6,917 passengers, 58 vessels, 73 motorbancas and 764 rolling cargoes were stranded.

Power interruptions were still being experienced in 5 cities and 100 municipalities due to tripping of transmission lines.

According to the report by NDRRMC, 23 cities and 34 municipalities have suspended classed due to Melor.

An estimated cost of damage to infrastructure and agriculture has reached 159 million pesos (3.37 million U.S. dollars).

An average of 20 typhoons passes through the Philippines each year. In 2013, typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,300 people in the central Philippines. Endit